In the Studio 44 stand at Supermarket Independant Art Fair

Susanne Högdahl Holm

Brecht´s library

Stockholm, spring 1940

The work has it´s origin in the list of the books Brecht wanted to bring to Helsinki, when he fled from Stockholm during the second world war. The list is described in Peter Weiss book Die Ästhetiks des Widerstands (Motståndets estetik.). It´s a very detailed list with the names of the publishers, places and years where the single copy of the books wore published. Die Ästhetiks des Widerstands is of cause a novel so if the list is for real or pure fiction and I don´t know. The list of books correspond with some sort of canon for classical literature of mainly male and western European writers.

I`m planning to gather as many as possible of the books on the lists and of the paper in books build small models of tentcamps and other shelter for people at the run. I will apply the models on cardboard boxes, walls or at the floor depending on where the project is showed. I will also invite people read the books, to bring samples or suggestions of books they wound take with them if they would have to flee. Hopefully the list of books will be updated to reveal a more complex view of urgent texts, by the books people bring to contribute to the list.

The aim of the project is when books literally speaking is transformed to shelter for needing people to discuss the need of urgent texts and freedom of speech, and the situation for people on the run. In the process copies of books will be turn in to fragment and difficult to read, but the meaning and the processes the texts has wakened will hopefully continuing to influence the people that has taken part in the project.